Welcome To Wirral

Steam trains brought townspeople out to Parkgate and the seaside on Cheap Day Excursions; and took back to the cities Wirral's early potatoes, rattling milk churns and coal from Neston Colliery.

But by 1962 the line was closed. The seaside resorts had long since silted up, the colliery was shut, the farms were being covered by houses, and the car had replaced the train.

For a while the track lay derelict. But in 1973, backed by money from the Countryside Commission, and after a great deal of work, the old railway line was opened as Wirral Country Park. It was the first designated Country Park in Britain.

The Dee Estuary: A Special Place

Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre at Thurstaston is open all year round and contains an information and sales desk where you can find out what's on, pick up leaflets and books of special interest or simply talk to the Rangers or Information Staff. You can buy refreshments at the adjacent snack bar, use the toilets or visit the bird hide and small exhibition area. Outside again, relax, play, picnic, horse ride or go for a stroll. Keep your eyes peeled and there's always something to see, whatever the season.

Sense of Space

Wirral Country Park is a place of contrasts. Badgers and Foxes hunt the quieter parts, birds nest in the dense hedges or feed on the berries in winter, and you may see up to 10 kinds of butterfly in summer. Head for the 60 feet high, boulder-clay cliffs and look out over the Dee Estuary and you'll smell the tang of mud and salt, feel the sea breeze and get a sense of space quite unlike the enclosed, inland Wirral Way.

The Dee Estuary dominates the park from Neston to West Kirby. Formed by a tongue of ice pushing in from the Irish Sea during the last Ice Age (between 25,000 and 13,000 years ago), in Roman times and the Middle Ages the estuary was busy with sailing ships heading for Chester. Today the Dee Estuary is one of the north-west's last surviving wildernesses. Gaze across its 31,500 acres to the Welsh shore, 5 miles away, and on a clear day you can see the familiar outline of Moel Famau in the Clwydian Hills. The estuary's ever-changing light, broad vistas and westerly sunsets reflected in the mudflats and the sea are a constant delight.

Vital Link

Look more carefully and the estuary teems with life. The miles of bare mud and saltmarsh are twice as fertile as the best agricultural land, rich with nutrients washed down by the Dee. Ragworm, Lugworm, cockles, shrimp-like creatures and tiny spire-shells live in the sticky silt in incredible numbers hundreds of thousands per square yard. They in turn provide food for thousands of sea-birds: the waders and wildfowl that make the estuary so important.

The Dee Estuary is a vital link in a chain, a fuelling station for migrating birds like Knot, Dunlin and Oystercatcher which fatten up here on their annual journeys around the globe. In spring they stop off en-route for their breeding grounds in arctic Canada, Greenland, Iceland and the USSR; and in autumn they moult and rest here on the way back to their winter quarters in southern Europe and Africa. Others remain all winter.

Life Between the Tides

As the tides alternately expose and cover the mudflats, so the wheeling flocks of birds move in harmony about the estuary. It's not daylight but the tides that determine when they feed and when they roost. Favourite feeding grounds for waders are Dawpool Bank off Heswall, and Caldy Blacks, just off Thurstaston; while Hilbre and Red Rocks are two of the better-known roosting areas. Take care not to disturb the birds.

Many other species of bird nest on the estuary; among others, look out for are Redshanks, Shelducks, Lapwings, Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and Terns. And, particularly at high spring-tides, you may see birds of prey like Peregrines, Hen Harriers and daytime-hunting Short-eared Owls. The Dee Estuary is not only a priceless and beautiful wilderness but also a place of vital international importance. We all have a duty to protect it.

...Around the Year

Spring

• Days lengthen and waders in bright summer plumage stop at Dee Estuary on way to Arctic to breed. Wheatears return.
• Fox and badger cubs emerge from their dens.
• Toads, frogs and newts spawn in the ponds. 'Pondwatch' and pond-dipping.
• First butterflies appear and Dog Violets, Buttercups and Primroses flower.
• Beach cleaning parties begin.

Summer

• Up to 10 species of butterfly in park. Dragonflies and damselflies lay eggs in ponds.
• Thousands of finger-nail sized froglets and toadlets emerge from ponds and head for undergrowth.
• Birds feeding newly-hatched young. Fledglings best left where they are.
• Children's and adults' activities including: pond-dipping, seashore searches and guided walks and talks.

Autumn

• Summer bird visitors leave: warblers, swallows, swifts return to Africa.
• Waders and wildfowl, with young, returning from arctic breeding grounds, at peak numbers. Some pass through, some stay.
• 'Fungal forays' with the Rangers. Mushrooms, fairy rings and bracket fungi.
• Seabirds' passage off Wirral's Irish Sea coast, especially spectacular during gales.

Winter

• Hardest time of year for wildlife; little daylight and food. Shore sometimes freezes. Many creatures die.
• Redwings and Fieldfares from Scandinavia visit gardens. Stock bird tables and provide unfrozen water.
• Frogs, toads, hedgehogs hibernate. Foxes, Badgers, squirrels, bats feed on good days.
• Look for footprints early on snowy mornings. Follow the animal adventures of the night.
• Estate management work by Rangers. Hedging, ditching and footpath maintenance. Cold work!

For a full calendar of events see the 'Events & Activities Programme' or the notice boards at Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre.

The Ranger Service

The Rangers wear distinctive green clothes and are there to help you and to protect the park. Feel free to ask questions; they won't bite!

Much of their work nowadays is interpreting the history and nature of the park: guiding walks, giving talks, explaining wildlife and showing children and adults what to look for at different times of the year. They also run a Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre.

About 250,000 people visit Wirral Country Park each year, so the Rangers have got their work cut out.

For educational visits, talks, lectures, slide shows, walks contact: Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre, Station Road, Thurstaston, Wirral, Merseyside CH61 OHN. Telephone 0151 648 4371 or 3884,

or e-mail us at: wirralcountrypark@wirral.gov.uk

Walks Around Thurstaston

Whether you prefer the sheltered inland Wirral Way with its wildlife and flowers, or the dramatic light and birds of the open estuary, there's plenty to see. Search for crabs and seashells on the sandy shore, count the different birds, watch for Weasels in the hedgerows or explore the waterfall and old oak woodland of the 'Dungeon'

You'll find all sorts of useful guides and books at Wirral Country Park Visitor Centre. You can also buy tide tables to work out the best times for birdwatching on the estuary, and maps of the area so you can plan your own walks, too.

Why the Dee Estuary is of International Importance

The Dee Estuary is at a crossroads of bird migration. Amazingly, the pattern was fixed around 18,000 years ago as the birds followed the edges of the Ice Age glaciers. Each species has traditional routes with traditional stopping places. The birds return year after year to the same estuaries. Many have no choice: they must come here.

As many as 82,000 waders, or up to 10% of the UK population, are counted at any one time on the Dee Estuary during the winter months; while 7 species are present in sufficient numbers to be of international importance.

The Dee Estuary also regularly holds up to 24,000 wildfowl (ducks) at any one time; 3 species are present in numbers of international importance. The Dee Estuary is recognised by a number of international and national conventions. It is:

• A Special Protection Area (European Community directive)
• A RAMSAR Site (International designation for wetlands)
• A Site of Special Scientific Interest (UK government)

The Government has an international duty to protect our estuaries.